Power Meter for Fixed Gear
dyrlac
Posts: 751
Ever since iPete mentioned he had a powertap track wheel on his fixie, I've been obsessed with the idea of getting a power meter for my Charge Plug (it is after all the bike I ride most often these days). In an ideal world 4iii's Precision would fit to my OEM crank, but 4iii's current model for UK shipments seems to be the same as Stages (i.e., only sold with a crank), and with a square taper BB on the Plug, that would mean replacing the whole crankset, which feels way OTT on a bike I bought for less than £350. Alternatively, if Brim Bros would pull their fingers out, I'd convert to speedplays across the fleet, but who knows when they'll get around to shipping. I'd pay the better part of £400 for the right all-in solution. Any clever ideas other than hanging out on ebay?
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Er what about Garmin Vector? Have you dismissed that on grounds of price?
You can use it on all your bikes, so long as you don't mind moving pedals around.0 -
BePro pedals?0
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I think you can dismiss Vector based on the fact that it's rubbish AND overpriced.
I'd also be wary of jumping on the Brim Brothers wagon too soon as well; I haven't been following developments that closely but logic would state that a new company launching a new power meter with a completely novel form factor and suffering a lot of delays wouldn't inspire me with confidence. I don't want to pan them, because there may well be good reasons for the delays and it's always great to see innovative new companies, but I wouldn't put my money there for now.
The Power Tap P1 pedals would suit you, but easy or of your price range. TBH there aren't many options at £400, but your logic confuses me. You're willing to spend £400 on a PM and possibly attach a 4iii to your crap current crankset, but you're not willing to change BB and pick up a cheap crankset + stages?0 -
Thanks gents.gaffer_slow wrote:BePro pedals?Er what about Garmin Vector? Have you dismissed that on grounds of price?
You can use it on all your bikes, so long as you don't mind moving pedals around.
Cleatwise, I'm a speedplay/SPD man and really dislike single-sided pedals, which is why I really want Brim Bros to succeed, but I take Buck's point.BuckMulligan wrote:
The Power Tap P1 pedals would suit you, but easy or of your price range. TBH there aren't many options at £400, but your logic confuses me. You're willing to spend £400 on a PM and possibly attach a 4iii to your crap current crankset, but you're not willing to change BB and pick up a cheap crankset + stages?
My price limit is more based on what is "sensible" in the context of a hacky fixie. Cheapest stages + crankset I've found is closer to £600 and I'd have to think about chain line issues in changing the BB, which seems a bit of a faff... (and even if 4iii could figure out how to sell glue internationally, my crap crankset has fluted cranks, which means no love there).0 -
I think you can dismiss Vector based on the fact that it's rubbish AND overpriced.
I'd also be wary of jumping on the Brim Brothers wagon too soon as well; I haven't been following developments that closely but logic would state that a new company launching a new power meter with a completely novel form factor and suffering a lot of delays wouldn't inspire me with confidence. I don't want to pan them, because there may well be good reasons for the delays and it's always great to see innovative new companies, but I wouldn't put my money there for now.
The Power Tap P1 pedals would suit you, but easy or of your price range. TBH there aren't many options at £400, but your logic confuses me. You're willing to spend £400 on a PM and possibly attach a 4iii to your crap current crankset, but you're not willing to change BB and pick up a cheap crankset + stages?I think you can dismiss Vector based on the fact that it's rubbish AND overpriced.
£400 for a single £750 for a double is over priced?
Big problem with the Vectors is that the people that complain about them are very good at complaining and lousy at wielding a spanner.0 -
Do like my vectors but they don't seem to cope with fixed too well. I've not got a PM that works with fixed to compare them against but using perceived exertion the numbers just don't seem right.
I believe several people on the Google wattage group have compared them properly and found similar.0 -
what are you going to use the power meter for exactly ? Just seeing what you're doing - or actually training on it to power ?0
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what are you going to use the power meter for exactly ? Just seeing what you're doing - or actually training on it to power ?
Why does that matter?0 -
what are you going to use the power meter for exactly ? Just seeing what you're doing - or actually training on it to power ?
I've started doing structured training to power on a wattbike 2/3 times a week (at least when [insert excuses] don't happen), so this is mostly curiosity about real world performance and a more precise indication of when I'm going too soft on the commute (on the road, I find myself happily riding to speed and/or SCR rather than perceived effort).0 -
I'm not sure the commute is going to be the optimal place for your training. If its busy I'd want to be more focussed on what the numpties in cars are doing compared to the watts I'm putting out.
If you want to do focused training - do it on the watt bike or a turbo - you can get a turbo with virtual power set up for less cost than a powermeter on the fixie - and that would bring you more benefits.
That's the way I'd do it anyway. I have a powermeter but its mostly used on the turbo or races. Very little on my road rides - with lights, traffic, junctions - its very hard to keep at the level you'd want.
I just dont think you'd get much value from one on a fixed wheel on a commute.0 -
what are you going to use the power meter for exactly ? Just seeing what you're doing - or actually training on it to power ?
Why does that matter?
Then again power on a fixed is somewhat pointless0 -
what are you going to use the power meter for exactly ? Just seeing what you're doing - or actually training on it to power ?
Why does that matter?
Because one is pointless, while the other isn't.0 -
what are you going to use the power meter for exactly ? Just seeing what you're doing - or actually training on it to power ?
Why does that matter?
Because one is pointless, while the other isn't.
Yes, but does that help answer the original question?0 -
Isn't that for the OP to judge ?0
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Garmin pedals have failed me twice and I know how to use a spanner. Both replaced very quickly on warranty and the problems seem to be gone. £400 for single sided vector be sure thats comes the the U.K importer Madison can tell the difference between pedals supplied grey import and those not. They wont help with the grey import varieties bought from israel or wherever the best "deal" is these days.
I dotraining/intervals with a power meter on my commute. I am starting to like my garmin pedals again.http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.0 -
Simmer down lads, I'd rather not nominate my own post for the kicking off thread
. At this stage, I'm not going to spend any more time than I already do cycling indoors; my primary aim is to make sure more of my *existing* rides are producing useful training adaptations for (ultra) endurance cycling beyond just time-in-saddle. To that end, I'm willing to throw £400 in the general direction of my fixie, which would more than double its sunk cost.
The Vector/other pedal based systems would be more attractive if they reliably worked on fixed gear and didn't require me to adopt a new foot retention system.0 -
According to DCRainmaker power meters will be coming down in price the longer you wait if you can.....0
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My bad. Unfortunately I can't see powertap shipping out £180 units again any time soon.
Hate to say it but Stages (especially with the current prices) could be a good shout and something that could work across all three of your bikes. Not sure how easily you can run a Shimano chainset on SS?
I do also love the power meter snobs, 'oh your not racing/competitive/training properly, you couldn't possibly ever be deserving or needing of one'. It's handy data, training or not.0 -
I do also love the power meter snobs, 'oh your not racing/competitive/training properly, you couldn't possibly ever be deserving or needing of one'. It's handy data, training or not.
Precisely my (hardly thinly veiled) point.0 -
AFAIK pedal based system won't work (at least Vector doesn't due to the zeroing issue). When it comes to fixed there are three viable options.
SRM- If you can afford it, get it.
Power2Max - Their Rotor track chainset is 144bcd and really good value for money since the price drop. Data looks to be reliable with the be caveat being it has a much wider q-factor than most track cranks (although comparable to road cranks).
Stages- You need a 7710 chainset (which is pretty much the best on the market). I've only seen a couple of people review them for track but they seem okay. I've picked one up as it was stupid cheap so I'll see how the numbers pan out after I've put it through its paces.English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg0 -
I ran out of time in my post to suggest the Power2max option. They work reliably.http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.0
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No unnerstan. You started the thread talking about a Powertap track wheel. Why not just buy one?0
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No unnerstan. You started the thread talking about a Powertap track wheel. Why not just buy one?
I suspect because the current model is nearly £800 for the hub alone.0 -
Then this looks like a bit of a bargain, even with import duty etc: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CycleOps-Powertap-Pro-g2-TRACK-Wheel-Ant-Joule-1-0-w-PowerCal-/261978264417?hash=item3cff1f1361No unnerstan. You started the thread talking about a Powertap track wheel. Why not just buy one?
I suspect because the current model is nearly £800 for the hub alone.0 -
Then this looks like a bit of a bargain, even with import duty etc: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CycleOps-Powertap-Pro-g2-TRACK-Wheel-Ant-Joule-1-0-w-PowerCal-/261978264417?hash=item3cff1f1361No unnerstan. You started the thread talking about a Powertap track wheel. Why not just buy one?
I suspect because the current model is nearly £800 for the hub alone.
Have been watching that, but the agressively "as is" puts me off a bit.
Will look into a new crankset, but compatibility with my current 103mm spindle length looks challenging. That said, the DA 7710 looks absolutely ace (and would be totally ridiculous on this bike).0 -
If you're worried about the cost vs bike price, get the crankset and powermeter and then get a new fixie to put it on
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Ok but really, what about a Stages SRAM GXP, £375 at Merlin, on a SRAM GXP S3000 chainset from bike24.de for £73 (or an Omnium if feeling flashier).
I'm assuming they'd be compatible with each other and the frame and 'only' £448 (and probably with some Quidco cashback).0 -
If you're worried about the cost vs bike price, get the crankset and powermeter and then get a new fixie to put it on
Not gonna lie, this route is looking more and more likely, but will need to be a total stealth purchase with parts ordered at odd intervals. Maybe Brim Bros will come through by then.
Stages approach is at least in the ballpark, shame about the aesthetics though.
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sram gxp stages will work with their single speed cranks.
I have one that I use on three bikes tt road and single speed cx bike.
the sram s300 1.1 or omnium will work0 -
I just missed it but Merlin did 10% off everything this weekend, that's under £340 for the PM.
If I wasn't focusing funds on more sensible things I'd be running 2x fixies on power :twisted:0
